Fred Hackett (full name Frederick Hackett; 11 November 1901 – 19 March 1963) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He served as a cabinet minister in both the First and Second Labour Governments and later became the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
Early Life
Hackett was born in Southampton, England, in 1901. He was educated locally and played association football in his youth. He worked in the British Merchant Navy transporting refugees and later served as a gunner in the Royal Navy during World War I. In 1921 he moved to New Zealand, and in 1923 he married Ivy Lily Bradford in Dunedin; the couple had four children. He became an active unionist and gained employment at the Auckland Tramways Board in 1922, remaining a prominent member of the Auckland Tramways Union for the next twenty years.
Political Career
Member of Parliament
Hackett was the Member of Parliament for the Grey Lynn electorate from 1943 until his death in 1963. He defeated John A. Lee in the electorate after Lee was expelled from the Labour Party following the "Lee Affair." After World War II, he chaired the Auckland rehabilitation committee, which assisted ex-service personnel with employment, housing, furniture loans, educational assistance, and trade-training subsidies, as well as services to widows of service personnel.
In 1953, Hackett was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.
Cabinet Minister
Hackett held several ministerial portfolios in the First Labour Government under Prime Minister Peter Fraser: Postmaster-General and Minister of Telegraphs (1946–1949), Minister of Transport (1947–1949), Minister of Marine (1947–1949), and Minister in charge of the Public Trust Office, State Fire Insurance, and Government Life Insurance Department (1946–1947). As Minister of Transport in 1948, he increased the open-road speed limit in New Zealand from 40 to 50 miles per hour, reversing wartime emergency regulations.
In the Second Labour Government under Prime Minister Walter Nash, he served as Minister of Labour, Minister of Mines, and Minister of Immigration from 1957 to 1960. As Minister of Labour, he represented New Zealand at the 1959 International Labour Organisation conference in Geneva, where he was unanimously elected chairman of the government group. As Minister for Mines, he approved Shell, BP, and Todd Oil Services to explore for oil offshore in the Kapuni oil field in 1959, a decision that later contributed to the development of the Taranaki oil and gas industry.
Deputy Leader of the Opposition
Following Labour's defeat in the 1960 election, Hackett served on the opposition frontbench. In June 1962, he was elected Deputy Leader of the Labour Party following the unexpected death of Jerry Skinner, defeating Arnold Nordmeyer on the second ballot. He was regarded as a compromise candidate and a middle-roader within the party.
In July 1962, Hackett was admitted to Auckland Hospital for brain surgery, which saved his life. He recovered and returned to Parliament in November 1962.
Death
On 19 March 1963, Hackett collapsed and died at his home in New Lynn, Auckland, at the age of 61. He was buried at Purewa Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, three sons, and one daughter.
Other Individuals Named Fred Hackett
The name "Fred Hackett" also refers to other individuals, including a forensic fire investigation expert who founded Midwest Forensics & Associates Inc. in Brownsburg, Indiana, and a Vermont-based insurance agency leader involved in local politics and community life. However, the most extensively documented figure in encyclopedic sources is the New Zealand politician described above.
